KYIV, Ukraine — A funeral for a Belarusian army volunteer and activist who died combating on the frontlines in japanese Ukraine was held in Kyiv on Saturday.

Eduard Lobau was killed in fierce artillery battles in Vuhledar towards Russian troops as a part of a small however dynamic regiment of Belarusian dissidents combating alongside the Ukrainian armed forces. His physique shall be taken to Warsaw for burial.

Russian troops have ramped up assaults within the east of Ukraine, significantly within the industrial cities of Bakhmut and Vuhledar. Moscow has mentioned its primary purpose is to seize the japanese Donetsk province which it considers part of Russia.

Lobau is the newest casualty of the Kalinowsky Regiment, the unit named after a outstanding Belarusian revolutionary who initiated an rebellion towards imperial Russia within the late 1800s. Volunteers oppose Belarusian authoritarian chief Alexander Lukashenko, a detailed ally of Russia. They imagine Ukraine’s victory over Russia will spur regime change in Minsk.

“It is a very particular regiment, consisting solely of Belarusians. This isn’t their nation, this isn’t their nation, nevertheless it’s their struggle,” mentioned Bohdan Yaremenko, a lawmaker in Ukraine’s parliament who attended the funeral. “I’m right here as an indication of my assist, and of my solidarity from my coronary heart to theirs.”

Olena Kharkhel, held a portrait of Lobau within the church as his comrades paid their final respects. Her husband, additionally a Belarusian dissident, died combating within the east with the regiment in June. He and Lobau had been good buddies.

“By combating towards Russia, we are able to liberate Belarus from Lukashenko’s regime,” she mentioned.

One after the other, the volunteers walked to Lobau’s coffin, draped with the Belarusian flag to pay their final respects in Kyiv’s Cathedral of St. Alexander. Most coated their faces to hide their identities.

Lobau served 4 years of jail time for acts of disobedience in his native Belarus in 2010. Following his launch in 2014 he fled to Ukraine and joined the armed forces as a army volunteer.

Belarusians make up a outstanding contingent of overseas fighters in Ukraine. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine propelled them to mobilize. The regiment itself was formalized in March 2022 and has been energetic in quite a few key battles from the early days of the struggle, together with in Mykolaiv, Kherson and the protection of Bucha and Irpin. Lobau participated within the latter.

“We are able to say he spent his whole life defending excessive beliefs and sacrificing for others,” mentioned pal and fellow volunteer Jan Melnikov.